x INTRODUCTION

any choice in the mat ter . This is what he somet imes expresses as

becoming like a god, for the gods, as he pu ts it in Euthyphro (lOd),love the pious (and so, the r igh t ) because it is r igh t ; they cannot dootherwise and no longer have any choice a t a ll, and they cannot be

the cause of evil.

The t ransla t ions in th is volume give the fu ll P la ton ic account of thedrama of Socra tes' t r ia l and dea th and provide vivid presen ta t ions ofSocra tes' discussions with h is fr iends and younger contemporar ies on

the na ture of piety, the just ice of obedience to sta te au thor ity, therela t ion between philosophica l knowledge and human vir tue, and thewonders, as well as the demands, of the life devoted to ph ilosophy. Thereferences to the coming t r ia l and it s charges in Euthyphro a re a kindof in t roduct ion to th is drama. The Apology is P la to's version of Socra tes'speech to the ju ry in h is own defense. In Cn 'to we End Socra tes refusing

to save h is life by escaping in to exile. Meno shows Socra tes deba t ingin h is character ist ic way with Meno on the na ture and teachability ofhuman vir tue (goodness), and a lso examining Meno's slave-bo.y on a

quest ion of geomet ry, in order to prove the preexistence of our souls

and our ability to lea rn ("recollect") t ru ths by r igorously examining ourown opin ions. Phaedo gives an account of h is discussion with h is fr iendsin pr ison on the last day of h is life, most ly on the quest ion of theimmor ta lity of the soul.

The influence of Socra tes on h is contemporar ies can hardly beexaggera ted, especia lly on P la to bu t not on P la to a lone, for a number

of au thors wrote on Socra tes in the ear ly four th cen tury B.C. And h is

influence on la ter ph ilosophers, la rgely th rough Pla to, was a lso verygrea t . This impact , on h is contemporar ies a t least , was due not on ly to

h is theor ies bu t in la rge measure to h is character and persona lity, tha tserenely self-confident persona lity tha t emerges so vividly from Pla to'swr it ings, and in par t icu la r from h is account of Socra tes' t r ia l, impr ison-

ment , and execut ion .

NOTE: With few except ions, th is t ransla t ion follows Bumet 's Oxford text .

G. M. A. Grube

EUTHYPHRO

Euthyphro is surpr ised to meet Socra tes near the king-archon 's cour t ,

for Socra tes is not the kind of man to have business with cour t s ofjust ice. Socra tes expla ins tha t he is under indictment by one Meletusfor cor rupt ing the young and for not believing in the gods in whomthe city believes. After a br ief discussion of th is, Socra tes inquiresabout Euthyphro's business a t cour t and is told tha t he is prosecut inghis own fa ther for the murder of a laborer who is h imself a murderer .Hz's family and fr iends believe h is course of act ion to be impious, bu tEuthyphro expla ins tha t in th is they a re mistaken and revea l theirignorance of the na ture of piety. This na tura lly leads Socra tes to ask,What is piety? And the rest of the dia logue is devoted to a search fora defin it ion of piety, illust ra t ing the Socra t ic search for un iversa ldefin it ions of eth ica l t erms, to which a number of ea r ly P la ton icdia logues a re devoted. As usua l, no defin it ion is found tha t sa t isfiesSocra tes.

The Greek term hosion means, in the fir st instance, the knowledge

of the proper r itua l in prayer and sacr ifice and of course it sper formance (as Euthyphro h imself defines it in l4b). But obviouslyEuthyphro uses it in the much wider sense of pious conduct genera lly(e.g., h is own), and in tha t sense the word is pract ica lly equiva len t tor igh teousness (the just ice of the Republic), the t ransit ion being, by wayof conduct pleasing to the gods.

Besides being an excellen t example of the ear ly, so-ca lled Socra t icdia logues, Euthyphro conta ins severa l passages with impor tan tphilosophica l implica t ions. These include those in which Socra tesspeaks of the one Form, presen ted by a ll the act ions tha t we ca ll pious(5 d), as well as the one in which we a re told tha t the gods love whatis pious because it is pious; it is not pious because the gods love it(lOd). Another passage cla r ifies the difference between genus andspecies (lle-lZd).

G.M.A.G.

PLATO

EUTHYPHRO: What 's new, Socra tes, to make you leave your usua l

haunts in the Lyceum and spend your t ime here by the king-archon 's

cour t? Surely you a re not prosecut ing anyone before the king-archoh

as I am?

SOCRATES: The Athenians do not ca ll th is a prosecut ion but anindictment , Euthyphro.

EUTHYPHRO: What is th is you say? Someone must have indicted you ,for you a re not going to tell me tha t you have indicted someone else.

SOCRATES: No indeed.

EUTHYPHRO: But someone else has indicted you?

SOCRATES: Quite so.

EUTHYPHRO: Who is he?

SOCRATES: I do not rea lly know him myself, Euthyphro. He is appar -en t ly young and unknown. They ca ll h im Meletus, I believe. He belongsto the P it thean deme, if you know anyone from tha t deme ca lledMeletus, with long ha ir , not much of a beard, and a ra ther aquiline nose.

EUTHYPHRO: I don 't know h im, Socra tes. What charge does he br ingaga inst you?

1. We know noth ing about Euthyphro except what we can ga ther from th isdia logue. He is obviously a professiona l pr iest who considers h imself an exper ton r itua l and on piety genera lly and, it seems, is genera lly so considered. OneEuthyphro is ment ioned in P la to's Cra tylus (396d) who is given to en thousi-asmos, inspira t ion or possession , bu t we cannot be sure tha t it is the same person .

2. The Lyceum was an outdoor gymnasium, just ou tside the walls of Athens,where teenage young men engaged in exercises and a th let ic compet it ions.Socra tes and other in tellectua ls ca r r ied on discussions with them there andexhibited their skills. See the beginnings of P la to's Euthydemus and Lysis, andthe last paragraph of Symposium. The king-archon , one of the n ine pr incipa lmagist ra tes of Athens, had the responsibility to oversee religious r itua ls andpur iEca t ions, and as such had oversigh t of lega l cases involving a lleged offensesaga inst the Olympian gods, whose worsh ip was a civic funct ion—it was regardedas a ser ious offense to offend them.

3. A deme was, in effect , one of the const ituen t villages ofAt t ica , the ter r itorywhose cen ter was the city of Athens (though Athens it self was divided in todemes, too). Athenian cit izens had fir st of a ll to be enrolled and recognizedas cit izens in their demes.

EUTHYPHRO 3

SOCRATES: What charge? A not ignoble one I th ink, for it is no smallth ing for a young man to have knowledge of such an impor tan t subject .He says he knows how our young men a re cor rupted and who cor rupts

them. He is likely to be wise, and when he sees my ignorance cor rupt ing

h is contemporar ies, he proceeds to accuse me to the city as to their

mother . I th ink he is the on ly one of our public men to sta r t ou t ther igh t way, for it is r igh t to care fir st tha t the young should be as goodas possible, just as a good fa rmer is likely to take care of the youngplan ts fir st , and of the others la ter . So, too, Meletus fir st get s r id of uswho cor rupt the young shoots, as he says, and then a fterwards he will

obviously take care of the older ones and become a source of grea t

blessings for the city, as seems likely to happen to one who sta r ted ou tth is way.

EUTHYPHRO: I could wish th is were t rue, Socra tes, bu t I fea r the

opposite may happen . He seems to me to sta r t ou t by harming the veryhear t of the city by a t tempt ing to wrong you . Tell me, what does hesay you do to cor rupt the young?

SOCRATES: St range th ings, to hear h im tell it , for he says tha t I ama maker of gods, and on the ground tha t I crea te new gods while notbelieving in the old gods, he has indicted me for their sake, as he pu ts it .

EUTHYPHRO: I understand, Socra tes. This is because you say tha t the

divine sign keeps coming to you . So he has wr it ten th is indictmentaga inst you as one who makes innova t ions in religious mat ters, and he

comes to cour t to slander you , knowing tha t such th ings a re easilymisrepresen ted to the crowd. The same is t rue in my case. Whenever

I speak of divine mat ters in the assembly and foretell the fu ture, theylaugh me down as if I were crazy; and yet I have foretold noth ing tha tdid not happen . Never theless, they envy a ll of us who do th is. Oneneed not worry about them, bu t meet them head-on .

SOCRATES: My dear Euthyphro, to be laughed a t does not mat terperhaps, for the Athenians do not mind anyone they th ink clever , as

4. In P la to, Socra tes a lways speaks of h is divine sign or voice as in tervening toprevent h im from doing or saying someth ing (e.g., Apology 31d), bu t neverposit ively. The popular view was tha t it enabled h im to foretell the fu ture, andEuthyphro here represen ts tha t view. Note, however , tha t Socra tes dissocia tesh imself from "you prophets" (3e).

5. The assembly was the fina l decision-making body of the Athenian democracy.All adult males could a t tend and vote.

4 PLATO

long as he does not t each h is own wisdom, bu t t f they th ink tha t hed maLs'others to be like h imself they get angry, whether th rough envy,

as you say, or for some other reason .

EUTHYPHRO: I have cer ta in ly no desire to test their feelings towards

me in th is mat ter .

SOCRATES: Perhaps you seem to make yourself bu t ra rely ava ilable,

and not be willing to teach your own wisdom, bu t I'm a fra id tha t myliking for people makes them th ink tha t I pour ou t to anybody anyth ingI have to say, not on ly without charging a fee bu t even glad to rewardanyone who is willing to listen . If then they were in tending to laugh

e a t me, as you say they laugh a t you , there would be noth ing unpleasant

in their spending their t ime in cour t laughing and jest ing, bu t if theyare going to be ser ious, the ou tcome is not clear except to you prophets.

EUTHYPHRO: Perhaps it will come to noth ing, Socra tes, and you willfigh t your case as you th ink best , as I th ink I will mine.

SOCRATES: What is your case, Euthyphro? Are you the defendant orthe prosecutor?

EUTHYPHRO: The prosecutor .

SOCRATES: Whom do you prosecute?

4 EUTHYPHRO: One whom I am thought crazy to prosecute.

SOCRATES: Are you pursu ing someone who will easily escape you?

EUTHYPHRO: Far from it , for he is qu ite old.

SOCRATES: Who is it ?

EUTHYPHRO: My fa ther .

SOCRATES: My dear sir ! Your own fa ther?

EUTHYPHRO: Cer ta in ly.

SOCRATES: What is the charge? What is the case about?

EUTHYPHRO: Murder , Socra tes.

SOCRATES: Good heavens! Cer ta in ly, Euthyphro, most men wouldb not know how they could do th is and be r igh t . It is not the par t of

anyone to do th is, bu t of one who is fa r advanced in wisdom.

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, by Zeus, Socra tes, tha t is so.

SOCRATES: Is then the man your fa ther killed one of your rela t ives?Or is tha t obvious, for you would not prosecute your fa ther for themurder of a st ranger .

EUTHYPHRO 5

EUTHYPHRO: It is r idicu lous, Socra tes, for you to th ink tha t it makesany difference whether the vict im is a st ranger or a rela t ive. One should

only watch whether the killer acted just ly or not ; if he acted just ly, leth im go, bu t if not , one should prosecute, if, tha t is to say, the killershares your hear th and table. The pollu t ion is the same if you knowinglykeep company with such a man and do not cleanse yourself and h im

by br inging h im to just ice. The vict im was a dependent of mine, andwhen we were fa rming in Naxos he was a servant of ours. He killed

one of our household slaves in drunken anger , so my fa ther bound h im

hand and foot and threw h im in a ditch , then sen t a man here toinquire from the pr iest what should be done. Dur ing tha t t ime he gaveno thought or ca re to the bound man, as being a killer , and it was nomat ter if he died, which he did. Hunger and cold and h is bonds causedhis dea th before the messenger came back from the seer . Both my

fa ther and my other rela t ives a re angry tha t I am prosecut ing my fa therfor murder on beha lf of a murderer when he hadn 't even killed h im,they say, and even if he had, the dead man does not deserve a thought ,since he was a killer . For , they say, it is impious for a son to prosecute

h is fa ther for murder . But their ideas of the divine a t t itude to piety andimpiety a re wrong, Socra tes.

SOCRATES: Wliereas, by Zeus, Euthyphro, you th ink tha t your knowl-edge of the divine, and of piety and impiety, is so accura te tha t , whenthose th ings happened as you say, you have no fear of having actedimpiously in br inging your fa ther to t r ia l?

EUTHYPHRO:I should be of no use, Socra tes, and Euthyphro wouldnot be super ior to the major ity of men, if I did not have accura teknowledge of a ll such th ings.

SOCRATES: It is indeed most impor tan t , my admirable Euthyphro,tha t I should become your pupil, and as regards th is indictment , cha l-lenge Meletus about these very th ings and say to h im: tha t in the pasttoo I considered knowledge about the divine to be most impor tan t , andtha t now tha t he says tha t I am guilty of improvising and innova t ingabout the gods I have become your pupil. I would say to h im: "If,Meletus, you agree tha t Euthyphro is wise in these mat ters, consider

me, too, to have the r igh t beliefs and do not br ing me to t r ia l. If you

6. Naxos is a la rge island in the Aegean Sea southeast of Athens, where Athenshad appropr ia ted land and setded many of it s cit izens under it s imper ia l ru lein the mid-Efth cen tury B.c.

T"

6 PLATO

do not th ink so, then prosecute tha t t eacher of mine, not me, forcor rupt ing the older men, me and h is own fa ther , by teaching me and

by exhor t ing and punish ing h im." If he is not convinced, and does not

discharge me or indict you instead of me, I sha ll repea t the samechallenge in cour t .

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, by Zeus, Socra tes, and, if he should t ry to indict

c me, I th ink I would find h is weak spots and the ta lk in cour t would beabout h im ra ther than about me.

SOCRATES: It is because I rea lize th is tha t I am eager to becomeyour pupil, my dear fr iend. I know tha t other people as well as th isMeletus do not even seem to not ice you , whereas he sees me so sharply

and clear ly tha t he indict s me for ungodliness. So tell me now, by Zeus,what you just now main ta ined you clear ly knew: what kind of th ing do

d you say tha t godliness and ungodliness a re, both as regards murder andother th ings; or is the pious not the same and a like in every act ion ,and the impious the opposite of a ll tha t is pious and like it self, andeveryth ing tha t is to be impious presen ts us with one form or appearanceinsofar as it is impious?

EUTHYPHRO: Most cer ta in ly, Socra tes.

SOCRATES: Tell me then , what is the pious, and what the impious,do you say?

EUTHYPHRO: I say tha t the pious is to do what I am doing now, toprosecute the wrongdoer , be it about murder or t emple robbery or

e anyth ing else, whether the wrongdoer is your fa ther or your mother or

anyone else; not to prosecute is impious. And observe, Socra tes, tha t I

can cite powerfu l evidence tha t the law is so. I have a lready sa id toothers tha t such act ions, a re r igh t , not to favor the ungodly, whoever

they a re. These people themselves believe tha t Zeus is the best and6 most just of the gods, yet they agree tha t he bound h is fa ther because

EUTHYPHRO 7

7. This is the kind of passage tha t makes it easier for us to follow the t ransit ionfrom Socra tes' un iversa l deEnit ions to the P la ton ic theory of separa tely existen teterna l un iversa l Forms. The words eidos and idea . the technica l t erms for thePla ton ic Forms, commonly mean physica l sta ture or bodily appearance. As weapply a common epithet , in th is case pious, to differen t act ions or th ings, thesemust have a common character ist ic, presen t a common appearance or form,

to just ify the use of the same term, bu t in the ear ly dia logues, as here, it seemsto be thought of as immanent in the par t icu la rs and without separa te existence.The same is t rue of 6d where the word "form" is a lso used.

he un just ly swallowed h is sons, and tha t he in tu rn cast ra ted h is fa therfor simila r reasons. But they a re angry with me because I am prosecut ing

my fa ther for h is wrongdoing. They cont radict themselves in what theysay about the gods and about me.

SOCRATES: Indeed, Euthyphro, th is is the reason why I am a defen-dant in the case, because I find it hard to accept th ings like tha t beingsa id about the gods, and it is likely to be the reason why I sha ll be toldI do wrong. Now, however , if you , who have fu ll knowledge of such

th ings, share their opin ions, then we must agree with them, too, it

would seem. For what a re we to say, we who agree tha t we ourselves

have no knowledge of them? Tell me, by the god of fr iendship, do yourea lly believe these th ings a re t rue?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, Socra tes, and so a re even more surpr ising th ings,

of which the major ity has no knowledge.

SOCRATES: And do you believe tha t there rea lly is war among thegods, and ter r ible enmit ies and ba tdes, and other such th ings as a retold by the poets, and other sacred stor ies such as a re embroidered bygood wr iters and by represen ta t ions of which the robe of the goddessis adorned when it is ca r r ied up to the Acropolis? Are we to say theseth ings a re t rue, Euthyphro?

EUTHYPHRO: Not on ly these, Socra tes, bu t , as I was saying just now,

I will, if you wish , rela te many other th ings about the gods which Iknow will amaze you .

SOCRATES: I should not be surpr ised, bu t you will t ell me these a tleisure some other t ime. For now, t ry to tell me more clear ly what I

was asking just now, for , my fr iend, you did not t each me adequa telywhen I asked you what the pious was, bu t you told me tha t what youare doing now, in prosecut ing your fa ther for murder , is pious.

EUTHYPHRO: And I told the t ru th , Socra tes.

SOCRATES: Perhaps. You agree, however , tha t there a re many other

pious act ions.

EUTHYPHRO: There a re.

8. The Acropolis is the huge rocky outcropping in the cen ter of Athens tha tserved as the citadel for At t ica , and a lso the cen ter of it s religious life. Majortemples to the gods were there, including the Par thenon, the temple of Athens,the city's protect ress. Every four years in an elabora te fest iva l in her honormaidens brought up the ceremonia l robe refer red to here, in which to clotheher sta tue.

8 PLATO

SOCRATES: Bear in mind then tha t I did not bid you tell me one ortwo of the many pious act ions bu t tha t form it self tha t makes a ll piousact ions pious, for you agreed tha t a ll impious act ions a re impious and

e a ll pious act ions pious th rough one form, or don 't you remember?

EUTHYPHRO: I do.

SOCRATES: Tell me then what th is form it self is, so tha t I may lookupon it and, using it as a model, say tha t any act ion of yours or another 's

tha t is of tha t kind is pious, and if it is not tha t it is not .

EUTHYPHRO: If tha t is how you want it , Socra tes, tha t is how I willt ell you .

SOCRATES: Tha t is what I want .

7 EUTHYPHRO: Well then , what is dear to the gods is pious, what isnot is impious.

SOCRATES: Splendid, Euthyphro! You have now answered in the wayI wanted. Whether your answer is t rue I do not know yet , bu t you will

obviously show me tha t what you say is t rue.

EUTHYPHRO: Cer ta in ly.

SOCRATES: Come then , let us examine what we mean . An act ion or

a man dear to the gods is pious, bu t an act ion or a man ha ted by thegods is impious. They a re not the same, bu t qu ite opposite, the piousand the impious. Is tha t not so?

EUTHYPHRO: It is indeed.

SOCRATES: And tha t seems to be a good sta tement?

b EUTHYPHRO: I th ink so, Socra tes.

SOCRATES: We have a lso sta ted tha t the gods a re in a sta te of discord,tha t they a re a t odds with each other , Euthyphro, and tha t they a re a tenmity with each other . Has tha t , too, been sa id?

EUTHYPHRO: It has.

SOCRATES: What a re the subjects of difference tha t cause ha t red andanger? Let us look a t it th is way. If you and I were to differ aboutnumbers as to which is the grea ter , would th is difference make usenemies and angry with each other , or would we proceed to count and

c soon resolve our difference about th is?

EUTHYPHRO: We would cer ta in ly do so.

SOCRATES: Again , if we differed about the la rger and the smaller ,we would tu rn to measurement and soon cease to differ .

EUTHYPHRO: That is so.

EUTHYPHRO 9

SOCRATES: And about the heavier and the ligh ter , we would resor tto weighing and be reconciled.

EUTHYPHRO: Of course.

SOCRATES: What subject of difference would make us angry andhost ile to each other if we were unable to come to a decision? Perhapsyou do not have an answer ready, bu t examine as I t ell you whether

these subjects a re the just and the un just , the beaut ifu l and the ugly,the good and the bad. Are these not the subjects of difference aboutwhich , when we a re unable to come to a sa t isfactory decision , you and

I and other men become host ile to each other whenever we do?

EUTHYPHRO: That is the difference, Socra tes, about those subjects.

SOCRATES: \ Vhat about the gods, Euthyphro? If indeed they havedifferences, will it not be about these same subjects?

EUTHYPHRO: It cer ta in ly must be so.

SOCRATES: Then according to your a rgument , my good Euthyphro,differen t gods consider differen t th ings to be just , beaut ifu l, ugly, good,and bad, for they would not be a t odds with one another un less theydiffered about these subjects, would they?

EUTHYPHRO: You a re r igh t .

SOCRATES: And they like what each of them considers beaut ifu l,good, and just , and ha te the opposites of these?

EUTHYPHRO: Cer ta in ly.

SOCRATES: But you say tha t the same th ings a re considered just bysome gods and unjust by others, and as they dispute about these th ingsthey a re a t odds and a t war with each other . Is tha t not so?

EUTHYPHRO: It is.

SOCRATES: The same th ings then a re loved by the gods and ha tedby the gods, and would be both god-loved and god-ha ted.

EUTHYPHRO: It seems likely.

SOCRATES: And the same th ings would be both pious and impious,according to th is a rgument?

EUTHYPHRO: I'm afra id so.

SOCRATES: So you did not answer my quest ion , you surpr ising man.

I did not ask you what same th ing is both pious and impious, and itappears tha t what is loved by the gods is a lso ha ted by them. So it isin no way surpr ising if your presen t act ion , namely punish ing your

10 PLATO

father , may be pleasing to Zeus bu t displeasing to Cronus and Uranus,

pleasing to Hephaestus bu t displeasing to Hera , and so with any othergods who differ from each other on th is subject .

EUTHYPHRO: I th ink, Socra tes, tha t on th is subject no gods woulddiffer from one another , tha t whoever has killed anyone unjust ly shouldpay the pena lty.

c SOCRATES: Well now, Euthyphro, have you ever heard any man

main ta in ing tha t one who has killed or done anyth ing else un just lyshould not pay the pena lty?

EUTHYPHRO: They never cease to dispute on th is subject , both else-

where and in the cour t s, for when they have commit ted many wrongs

they do and say anyth ing to avoid the pena lty.

SOCRATES: Do they agree they have done wrong, Euthyphro, and inspite of so agreeing do they never theless say they should not be pun-ished?

EUTHYPHRO: No, they do not agree on tha t poin t .

SOCRATES: So they do not say or do just anyth ing. For they do notventure to say th is, or dispute tha t they must not pay the pena lty if they

d have done wrong, bu t I th ink they deny doing wrong. Is tha t not so?

EUTHYPHRO: That is t rue.

SOCRATES: Then they do not dispute tha t the wrongdoer must bepunished, bu t they may disagree as to who the wrongdoer is, what hedid, and when.

EUTHYPHRO: You a re r igh t .

SOCRATES: Do not the gods have the same exper ience, if indeedthey a re a t odds with each other about the just and the un just , as yourargument main ta ins? Some asser t tha t they wrong one another , while

e others deny it , bu t no one among gods or men ventures to say tha t the

wrongdoer must not be punished.

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, tha t is t rue, Socra tes, as to the main poin t .

SOCRATES: And those who disagree, whether men or gods, disputeabout each act ion , if indeed the gods disagree. Some say it is donejust ly, others un just ly. Is tha t not so?

9. Zeus fa ther , whom he fought and defea ted (see 6a), was Cronus; Cronus,in tu rn , had cast ra ted h is own fa ther Uranus. The story of Hephaestus and h ismother Hera , ment ioned next , simila r ly involves a son punish ing h is paren t .

EUTHYPHRO 11

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, indeed.

SOCRATES: Come now, my dear Euthyphro, t ell me, too, tha t I may

become wiser , what proof you have tha t a ll the gods consider tha t manto have been killed un just ly who became a murderer while in yourservice, was bound by the master of h is vict im, and died in h is bondsbefore the one who bound h im found out from the seers what was tobe done with h im, and tha t it is r igh t for a son to denounce and toprosecute h is fa ther on beha lf of such a man. Come, t ry to show me

a clear sign tha t a ll the gods defin itely believe th is act ion to be r igh t .If you can give me adequa te proof of th is, I sha ll never cease to extolyour wisdom.

EUTHYPHRO: This is perhaps no ligh t t ask, Socra tes, though I couldshow you very clear ly.

SOCRATES: I understand tha t you th ink me more du ll-wit ted thanthe ju ry, as you will obviously show them tha t these act ions were un justand tha t a ll the gods ha te such act ions.

EUTHYPHRO: I will show it to them clear ly, Socra tes, if on ly they willlisten to me.

SOCRATES: They will listen if they th ink you show them well. Butth is thought came to me as you were speaking, and I am examining

it , saying to myself: "If Euthyphro shows me conclusively tha t a ll thegods consider such a dea th un just , to what grea ter exten t have I lea rned

from him the na ture of piety and impiety? This act ion would then , itseems, be ha ted by the gods, bu t the pious and the impious were notthereby now defined, for what is ha ted by the gods has a lso been shownto be loved by them." So I will not insist on th is poin t ; let us assume,if you wish , tha t a ll the gods consider th is un just and tha t they a ll ha teit . However , is th is the cor rect ion we a re making in our discussion ,

tha t what a ll the gods ha te is impious, and what they a ll love is pious,and tha t what some gods love and others ha te is neither or both? Istha t how you now wish us to define piety and impiety?

EUTHYPHRO: What prevents us from doing so, Socra tes?

SOCRATES: For my par t noth ing, Euthyphro, bu t you look whetheron your par t th is proposa l will enable you to teach me most easily whatyou promised.

EUTHYPHRO: I would cer ta in ly say tha t the pious is what a ll the godslove, and the opposite, what a ll the gods ha te, is the impious.

SOCRATES: Then let us aga in examine whether tha t is a sound sta te-

ment , or do we let it pass, and if one of us, or someone else, merely

12 PLATO

says tha t someth ing is so, do we accept tha t it is so? Or should we

examine what the speaker means?

EUTHYPHRO: We must examine it , bu t I cer ta in ly th ink tha t th is isnow a fine sta tement .

10 SOCRATES: We sha ll soon know bet ter whether it is. Consider th is:Is the pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it piousbecause it is being loved by the gods?

EUTHYPHRO: I don t know what you mean , Socra tes.

SOCRATES: I sha ll t ry to expla in more clear ly: we spea l< of someth ingcar r ied and someth ing car rying, of someth ing led and someth ing lead-ing, of someth ing seen and someth ing seeing, and you understand tha t

these th ings a re a ll differen t from one another and how they differ?EUTHYPHRO: I th ink I do.

SOCRATES: So there is a lso someth ing loved and—a differen t th ing—someth ing loving.

EUTHYPHRO: Of course.

b SOCRATES: Tell me then whether the th ing car r ied is a ca r r ied th ingbecause it is being car r ied, or for some other reason?

EUTHYPHRO: No, tha t is the reason .

SOCRATES: And the th ing led is so because it is being led, and theth ing seen because it is being seen?

EUTHYPHRO: Cer ta in ly.

SOCRATES: It is not being seen because it is a th ing seen but on thecont ra ry it is a th ing seen because it is being seen; nor is it because itis someth ing led tha t it is being led bu t because it is being led tha t itis someth ing led; nor is someth ing being car r ied because it is someth ingcar r ied, bu t it is someth ing car r ied because it is being car r ied. Is what

c I want to say clear , Euthyphro? I want to say th is, namely, tha t ifanyth ing is being changed or is being a ffected in any way, it is notbeing changed because it is someth ing changed, bu t ra ther it is some-th ing changed because it is being changed; nor is it being a ffectedbecause it is someth ing a ffected, bu t it is someth ing a ffected becauseit is being a ffected. Or do you not agree?

10. Here Socra tes gives the genera l pr inciple under which , he says, the speciEccases a lready examined—those of leading, ca r rying, and seeing—all fa ll. It isby being changed by someth ing tha t changes it (e.g., by car rying it somewhere)tha t anyth ing is a changed th ing—not vice versa : it is not by someth ing's beinga changed th ing tha t someth ing else then changes it so tha t it comes to be

EUTHYPHRO 13

EUTHYPHRO: I do.

SOCRATES: Is someth ing loved either someth ing changed or some-

th ing a ffected by someth ing?

EUTHYPHRO: Cer ta in ly.

SOCRATES: So it is in the same case as the th ings just ment ioned; itis not being loved by those who love it because it is someth ing loved,but it is someth ing loved because it is being loved by them?

EUTHYPHRO: Necessar ily.

SOCRATES: What then do we say about the pious, Euthyphro? Surelytha t it is being loved by a ll the gods, according to what you say?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: Is it being loved because it is pious, or for some otherreason?

EUTHYPHRO: For no other reason .

SOCRATES: It is being loved then because it is pious, bu t it is notpious because it is being loved?

EUTHYPHRO: Apparent ly.

SOCRATES: And yet it is someth ing loved and god-loved because itis being loved by the gods?

EUTHYPHRO: Of course.

SOCRATES: Then the god-loved is not the same as the pious, Euthy-phro, nor the pious the same as the god-loved, as you say it is, bu t one

differs from the other .

EUTHYPHRO: How so, Socra tes?

SOCRATES: Because we agree tha t the pious is being loved for th isreason , tha t it is pious, bu t it is not pious because it is being loved. Istha t not so?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: And tha t the god-loved, on the other hand, is so because

it is being loved by the gods, by the very fact of being loved, bu t it isnot being loved because it is god-loved.

EUTHYPHRO: True.

being changed (e.g., by car rying it somewhere). Likewise for a ffect ions" suchas being seen by someone: it is by being "a ffected" by someth ing tha t a ffect s'it tha t anyth ing is an "a fifected" th ing, not vice versa . It is not by being an"affected" th ing (e.g., a th ing seen) tha t someth ing else then "a ffect s" it .

T^

14 PLATO

SOCRATES: But if the god-loved and the pious were the same, mydear Euthyphro, then if the pious was being loved because it was pious,

11 the god-loved would a lso be being loved because it was god-loved; andif the god-loved was god-loved because it was being loved by the gods,then the pious would a lso be pious because it was being loved by thegods. But now you see tha t they a re in opposite cases as being a ltogetherdifferen t from each other : the one is such as to be loved because it isbeing loved, the other is being loved because it is such as to be loved.I'm afra id, Euthyphro, tha t when you were asked what piety is, you didnot wish to make it s na ture clear to me, bu t you told me an a ffect or

a qua lity of it , tha t the pious has the qua lity of being loved by a ll theb gods, bu t you have not yet told me what the pious is. Now, if you will,

do not h ide th ings from me but t ell me aga in from the beginning whatpiety is, whether being loved by the gods or having some other qua lity—we sha ll not quar rel about tha t—but be keen to tell me what the piousand the impious a re.

EUTHYPHRO: But Socra tes, I have no way of telling you what I havein mind, for whatever proposit ion we put forward goes a round andrefuses to stay pu t where we establish it .

SOCRATES: Your sta tements, Euthyphro, seem to belong to my ances-

c tor , Daeda lus. If I were sta t ing them and put t ing them forward, youwould perhaps be making fun of me and say tha t because of my kinsh ipwith h im my conclusions in discussion run away and will not stay whereone puts them. As these proposit ions a re yours, however , we need some

other jest , for they will not stay pu t for you , as you say yourself.

EUTHYPHRO: I th ink the same jest will do for our discussion , Socra tes,for I am not the one who makes them go a round and not remain in

d the same place; it is you who a re the Daeda lus; for as fa r as I amconcerned they would remain as they were.

SOCRATES: It looks as if I was cleverer than Daeda lus in using myskill, my fr iend, insofar as he could on ly cause to move the th ings hemade h imself, bu t I can make other people's th ings move as well asmy own. And the smar test par t of my skill is tha t I am clever withoutwant ing to be, for I would ra ther have your sta tements to me remain

e unmoved than possess the wea lth ofTanta lus as well as the cleverness of

Daeda lus. But enough of th is. Since I th ink you a re making unnecessary

EUTHYPHRO 15

difficu lt ies, I am as eager as you a re to find a way to teach me aboutpiety, and do not give up before you do. See whether you th ink a ll tha tis pious is of necessity just .

EUTHYPHRO: I th ink so.

SOCRATES: And is then a ll tha t is just pious? Or is a ll tha t is piousjust , bu t not a ll tha t is just pious, bu t some of it is and some is not? 12

EUTHYPHRO: I do not follow what you a re saying, Socra tes.

SOCRATES: Yet you a re younger than I by as much as you a re wiser .

As I say, you a re making difficu lt ies because of your wea lth of wisdom.Pull yourself together , my dear sir , what I am saying is not difficu lt tograsp. I am saying the opposite of what the poet sa id who wrote:

You do not wish to name Zeus, who had done it , and who made a llth ings grow, for where there is fea r there is a lso shame b

I disagree with the poet . Sha ll I t ell you why?

EUTHYPHRO: Please do.

SOCRATES: I do not th ink tha t where there is fea r there is a lsoshame," for I th ink tha t many people who fear disease and pover ty andmany other such th ings feel fea r , bu t a re not ashamed of the th ingsthey fear . Do you not th ink so?

EUTHYPHRO: I do indeed.

SOCRATES: But where there is shame there is a lso fear . For is there

anyone who, in feeling shame and embarrassment a t anyth ing, does c

not a lso a t the same t ime fear and dread a reputa t ion for wickedness?

EUTHYPHRO: He is cer ta in ly a fra id.

SOCRATES: It is then not r igh t to say "where there is fea r there isa lso shame," bu t tha t where there is shame there is a lso fear , for fea r

covers a la rger a rea than shame. Shame is a par t of fea r just as odd is

a par t of number , with the resu lt tha t it is not t rue tha t where there isnumber there is a lso oddness, bu t tha t where there is oddness there isa lso number . Do you follow me now?

EUTHYPHRO: Surely.

SOCRATES: This is the kind of th ing I was asking before, whetherwhere there is piety there is a lso just ice, bu t where there is just ice there dis not a lways piety, for the pious is a par t of just ice. Sha ll we say tha t ,or do you th ink otherwise?

11. Socra tes may have been a stonemason , as h is fa ther was. In Greek mythologyDaeda lus' sta tues (made of wood) could move themselves. 12. Author unknown.

16 PLATO

EUTHYPHRO: No, bu t like tha t , for what you say appears to be r igh t .

SOCRATES: See what comes next : if the pious is a par t of the just ,we must , it seems, find out what par t of the just it is. Now if you askedme someth ing of what we ment ioned just now, such as what par t of

number is the even , and what number tha t is, I would say it is the

number tha t is divisible in to two equa l, not unequa l, par t s. Or do you

not th ink so?

EUTHYPHRO: I do.

e SOCRATES: Try in th is way to tell me what par t of the just the piousis, in order to tell Meletus not to wrong us any more and not to indictme for ungodliness, since I have lea rned from you sufficien t ly what isgodly and pious and what is not .

EUTHYPHRO: I th ink, Socra tes, tha t the godly and pious is the par tof the just tha t is concerned with the care of the gods, while tha tconcerned with the care of men is the remain ing par t of just ice.

SOCRATES: You seem to me to pu t tha t very well, bu t I st ill need a13 bit of in format ion . I do not know yet what you mean by care, for you

do not mean the care of the gods in the same sense as the care of other

th ings, as, for example, we say, don 't we, tha t not everyone knows how

to care for horses, bu t the horse breeder does.

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, I do mean it tha t way.

SOCRATES: So horse breeding is the care of horses.

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: Nor does everyone know how to care for dogs, bu t the

hunter does.

EUTHYPHRO: That is so.

SOCRATES: So hunt ing is the care of dogs.

b EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: And ca t t le ra ising is the care of ca t t le.

EUTHYPHRO: Quite so.

SOCRATES: While piety and godliness is the care of the gods, Euthy-phro. Is tha t what you mean?

EUTHYPHRO: It is.

SOCRATES: Now care in each case has the same effect ; it a ims a t the

good and the benefit of the object ca red for , as you can see tha t horsescared for by horse breeders a re benefited and become bet ter . Or doyou not th ink so?

EUTHYPHRO 17

EUTHYPHRO: I do.

SOCRATES: So dogs a re benefited by dog breeding, ca t t le by ca t t lera ising, and so with a ll the others. Or do you th ink tha t ca re a ims toharm the object of it s ca re?

EUTHYPHRO: By Zeus, no.

SOCRATES: It a ims to benefit the object of it s ca re?

EUTHYPHRO: Of course.

SOCRATES: Is piety then , which is the care of the gods, a lso to benefitthe gods and make them bet ter? Would you agree tha t when you dosometh ing pious you make some one of the gods bet ter?

EUTHYPHRO: By Zeus, no.

SOCRATES: Nor do I th ink tha t th is is what you mean—far from it—but tha t is why I asked you what you meant by the care of gods, becauseI did not believe you meant th is kind of ca re.

EUTHYPHRO: Quite r igh t , Socra tes, tha t is not the kind of ca re I mean .

SOCRATES: Very well, bu t what kind of ca re of the gods wouldpiety be?

EUTHYPHRO: The kind of ca re, Socra tes, tha t slaves take of theirmasters.

SOCRATES: I understand. It is likely to be a kind of service of the gods.

EUTHYPHRO: Quite so.

SOCRATES: Could you tell me to the ach ievement of what goa l serviceto doctors tends? Is it not , do you th ink, to ach ieving hea lth?

EUTHYPHRO: I th ink so.

SOCRATES: What about service to sh ipbuilders? To what ach ievementis it directed?

EUTHYPHRO: Clear ly, Socra tes, to the bu ilding of a sh ip.

SOCRATES: And service to housebuilders to the bu ilding of a house?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: Tell me then , my good sir , to the ach ievement of whata im does service to the gods tend? You obviously know since you saytha t you , of a ll men, have the best knowledge of the divine.

EUTHYPHRO: And I am telling the t ru th , Socra tes.

SOCRATES: Tell me then , by Zeus, what is tha t excellen t a im tha tthe gods ach ieve, using us as their servants?

EUTHYPHRO: Many Ene th ings, Socra tes.

T18 PLATO EUTHYPHRO 19

14 SOCRATES: So do genera ls, my fr iend. Never theless you could easilytell me their main concern , which is to ach ieve victory in war , is it not?

EUTHYPHRO: Of course.

SOCRATES: The fa rmers, too, I th ink, ach ieve many fine th ings, bu t

the main poin t of their effor t s is to produce food from the ear th .

EUTHYPHRO: Quite so.

SOCRATES: Well then , how would you sum up the many fine th ingstha t the gods ach ieve?

EUTHYPHRO: I told you a shor t while ago, Socra tes, tha t it is ab considerable task to acquire any precise knowledge of these th ings, bu t ,

to pu t it simply, I say tha t if a man knows how to say and do what ispleasing to the gods a t prayer and sacr iEce, those a re pious act ions suchas preserve both pr iva te houses and public a ffa ir s of sta te. The opposite ofthese pleasing act ions a re impious and over turn and dest roy everyth ing.

SOCRATES: You could tell me in fa r fewer words, if you were willing,c the sum of what I asked, Euthyphro, bu t you a re not keen to teach me,

tha t is clear . You were on the poin t of doing so, bu t you turned away.

If you had given tha t answer , I should now have acquired from yousufficien t knowledge of the na ture of piety. As it is, the lover of inquirymust follow h is beloved wherever it may lead h im. Once more then ,what do you say tha t piety and the pious a re? Are they a knowledge ofhow to sacr ifice and pray?

EUTHYPHRO: They a re.

SOCRATES: To sacr ifice is to make a gift to the gods, whereas to prayis to beg from the gods?

EUTHYPHRO: Defin itely, Socra tes.

d SOCRATES: It would follow from th is sta tement tha t piety would bea knowledge of how to give to, and beg from, the gods.

EUTHYPHRO: You understood what I sa id very well, Socra tes.

SOCRATES: Tha t is because I am so desirous of your wisdom, and I

concent ra te my mind on it , so tha t no word of yours may fa ll to the

ground. But tell me, what is th is service to the gods? You say it is tobeg from them and to give to them?

EUTHYPHRO: I do.

SOCRATES: And to beg cor recdy would be to ask from them th ingstha t we need?

EUTHYPHRO: What else?

SOCRATES: And to give cor rect ly is to give them what they need from eus, for it would not be skillfu l to br ing gift s to anyone tha t a re in noway needed.

EUTHYPHRO: True, Socra tes.

SOCRATES: P iety would then be a sor t of t rading skill between godsand men?

EUTHYPHRO: Trading yes, if you prefer to ca ll it tha t .

SOCRATES: I prefer noth ing, un less it is t rue. But tell me, what beneEt

do the gods der ive from the gift s they receive from us? What they giveus is obvious to a ll. There is for us no good tha t we do not receive from 15them, bu t how are they benefited by what they receive from us? Or dowe have such an advantage over them in the t rade tha t we receive a ll

our blessings from them and they receive noth ing from us?

EUTHYPHRO: Do you suppose, Socra tes, tha t the gods a re benefited

by what they receive from us?

SOCRATES: What could those gift s from us to the gods be, Euthyphro?

EUTHYPHRO: What else, do you th ink, than honor , reverence, and

what I ment ioned just now, to please them?

SOCRATES: The pious is then , Euthyphro, pleasing to the gods, bu t bnot beneficia l or dear to them?

EUTHYPHRO: I th ink it is of a ll th ings most dear to them.

SOCRATES: So the pious is once aga in what is dear to the gods.

EUTHYPHRO: Most cer ta in ly.

SOCRATES: When you say th is, will you be surpr ised if your a rgumentsseem to move about instead of staying put? And will you accuse me ofbeing Daeda lus who makes them move, though you a re yourself muchmore skillfu l than Daeda lus and make them go a round in a circle? Ordo you not rea lize tha t our a rgument has moved a round and come

aga in to the same place? You surely remember tha t ea r lier the pious cand the god-loved were shown not to be the same but differen t fromeach other . Or do you not remember?

EUTHYPHRO: I do.

SOCRATES: Do you then not rea lize now tha t you a re saying tha t

what is dear to the gods is the pious? Is th is not the same as the god-loved? Or is it not?

EUTHYPHRO: It cer ta in ly is.

16

20 PLATO

SOCRATES: Either we were wrong when we agreed before, or , if we

were r igh t then , we a re wrong now.

EUTHYPHRO: That seems to be so.

SOCRATES: So we must invest iga te aga in from the beginning whatpiety is, as I sha ll not willingly give up before I lea rn th is. Do not th inkme unwor thy, bu t concent ra te your a t ten t ion and tell the t ru th . For

you know it , if any man does, and I must not let you go, like Proteus,

before you tell me. If you had no clear knowledge of piety and impietyyou would never have ventured to prosecute your old fa ther for murder

on beha lf of a servant . For fear of the gods you would have been a fra idto take the r isk lest you should not be act ing r igh t ly, and would havebeen ashamed before men, bu t now I know well tha t you believeyou have clear knowledge of piety and impiety. So tell me, my goodEuthyphro, and do not h ide what you th ink it is.

EUTHYPHRO: Some other t ime, Socra tes, for I am in a hur ry now,

and it is t ime for me to go.

SOCRATES: What a th ing to do, my fr iend! By going you have castme down from a grea t hope I had, tha t I would lea rn from you thena ture of the pious and the impious and so escape Meletus' indictment

by showing h im tha t I had acquired wisdom in divine mat ters fromEuthyphro, and my ignorance would no longer cause me to be careless

and invent ive about such th ings, and tha t I would be bet ter for the restof my life.

13. In Greek mythology Proteus was a sor t of old man of the sea , who couldkeep on changing h is form and so escape being quest ioned. See Homer , Odysseyiv.382 ff.

APOLOGY

The Apology professes to be a record of the actua l speech tha tSocra tes delivered in h is own defense a t the t r ia l. This cla im makes thequest ion of it s h istor icity more acu te than in the dia logues in whichthe conversa t ions themselves a re most ly fict iona l and the quest ion ofh istor icity is concerned only with how fa r the theor ies tha t Socra tes isrepresen ted as expressing were those of the h istor ica l Socra tes. Here,

however , we a re dea ling with a speech tha t Socra tes made as a mat ter

of h istory. How fa r is P la to's account accura te? We should a lwaysremember tha t the ancien ts did not expect h istor ica l accuracy in theway we do. On the other hand, P la to makes it clea r tha t he waspresent a t the t r ia l (34a , 38b). Moreover , if, a s is genera lly believed,the Apology was wr it ten not long, a fter the event , many Athenianswould remember the actua l speech , and it would be a poor way tovindica te the Master , which is the obvious in ten t , to pu t a completelydifferen t speech in to h is mouth . Some liber t ies could no doubt bea llowed, bu t the main a rguments and the genera l tone of the defensemust surely be fa ith fu l to the or igina l. The beauty of language andstyle is cer ta in ly P la to's, bu t the serene spir itua l and mora l beauty ofcharacter belongs to Socra tes. It is a powerfu l combina t ion .

Athenian jur ies were very la rge, in th is case 501, and theycombined the du t ies of ju ry and judge as we know them by bothconvict ing and sen tencing. Obviously, it would have been vir tua llyimpossible for so la rge a body to discuss var ious pena lt ies and decideon one. The problem was resolved ra ther nea t ly, however , by having

the prosecutor , a fter convict ion , assess the pena lty he thoughtappropr ia te, followed by a counter -assessment by the defendant . Thejury would then decide between the two. This procedure genera llymade for modera t ion on both sides.

Thus the Apology ;s in th ree par t s. The fir st and major par t is themain speech (17a-35d), followed by the counter -assessment (35e-38b),

1. The word apology is a t ranslit era t ion , not a t ransla t ion , of the Greek apologia ,which means defense. There is cer ta in ly noth ing apologet ic about the speech .

21